Agriculture | Page 17

Drought farmers working on a farm to market road

Drought farmers working on a farm to market road in Foster Township, south of Beardsley in Big Stone County, 1936.

Farm to market road construction

Federal Emergency Relief Administration farm to market road construction project near Alexandria, 1936.

Workers on State Emergency Relief Administration

Workers on State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA) farm near Duluth, Lake County, 1935.

Black and white photograph of a starving farm family who appealed for aid, Hollandale, Freeborn County, 1929.

Farm family that applied for aid

Starving farm family that appealed for aid during an agricultural depression, Hollandale, Freeborn County, 1929.

Agricultural Depression, 1920–1934

Minnesota farmers enjoyed a period of prosperity in the 1910s that continued through World War I. Encouraged by the US government to increase production, they took out loans to buy more land and invest in new equipment. As war-torn countries recovered, however, the demand for US exports fell, and land values and prices for commodities dropped. Farmers found it hard to repay their loans—a situation worsened by the Great Depression and the drought years that followed.

Lake Wilson

Lake Wilson with grain elevator in background, 2016.

Grain elevator in Dovray

Grain elevator in Dovray, 2016.

Jacob DeMong Farm, Murray County

Jacob DeMong Farm, Murray County, ca. 1910.

4-H club member and her prize-winning steer at the Polk County Fair

A 4-H club member shows off her prize-winning commercial steer at the Polk County Fair in Fertile, Minnesota, 2015. The steer was awarded a purple ribbon, which qualified it to advance to the competition at the Minnesota State Fair.

Hydroponic vegetable garden exhibit

4-H club member Alyssa Schwede at the West Polk County Fair with her hydroponic vegetable garden exhibit, 2015. The exhibit was awarded a purple ribbon.

Gale Family Library